This invention relates generally to an air brush kit and more particularly to an air brush kit having a pressurized air tank in communication with the air brush, and an ink source which comprises a special tip to act in conjunction with the air brush. The invention is especially suited for use by younger people.
There have been numerous types of air brushes which have been marketed over the years. Such air brushes include a variety of pressurized gas sources, ink or paint reservoirs, actuating means and spray nozzles. Normally, the air brushes are sophisticated machines which comprise numerous moving parts and require a sophisticated operator. For example, Nita, EP-208-247-A discloses an air brush having a gas bomb which, through a number of pressure regulators, releases gas out a nozzle and over the standard tip of a felt-tipped pen. Unfortunately, when released from a compressed gas bomb into the atmosphere, the gas experiences a drop in temperature such that when exposed to water-based inks, the gas could actually freeze water based inks in the felt tip. Also, gas bombs are generally operated at pressures of 30 pounds per inch or greater, which is not safe for use by younger people. Pfeiffer, U.K. Patent Application GB 2 035 138A discloses an air brush utilizing a felt-tipped pen, compressed air and an air valve, which can be used with a stencil to mark objects with ink or paint. The use of a standard felt tip on an ink pen, as suggested by Pfeiffer, will quickly dry out when subjected to a flow of air. Further, relatively high pressures are necessary to obtain adequate ink flows from the standard pen tip.
Martin, U.S. Pat. No. 665,747, discloses a spraying device utilizing a hand pump to compress air in a chamber. The compressed air is then released through a nozzle and past an adjacent fluid reservoir nozzle to draw fluid in the reservoir into the stream of air and onto a stencil. Wolf, U.S. Pat. No. 818,649, also discloses an ink spraying system that includes a manually operated pump and a clamp to restrict a flexible tube which feeds pressurized air to the nozzle.
Both Leitch U.S. Pat. No. 1,951,057, and Foss et al., U.S. Pat. No. 1,782,681, disclose the use of pressurized air to force ink or paint through a nozzle. In both cases the pressurized air is applied as back pressure to the ink reservoir.
Gaines, U.S. Pat. No. 1,271,457, discloses an ink-filled reservoir having a porous tip for the flow of ink. The ink is forced through the porous tip by a finger-actuated rubber bulb pump mounted on the side of the reservoir.
A type of pressurized painting system is disclosed in Goldfarb et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,524, which is intended to be used primarily by youngsters. That system resembles a hand-held gun which has a hand pump integrally mounted in the handle. By squeezing the pump, a bellows is activated which forces air though a tube and out a nozzle. Adjacent the nozzle is an outlet for a paint reservoir. The paint is drawn into the air stream due to the relative low pressure at the paint outlet nozzle as compared with the internal pressure of the reservoir.
It is the general object of this invention to provide an air brush set that is simple in its construction, and therefore relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and simple for young people to use.